3rd Down
by Laurie Whitlock
Summary: Emmett McCarty the most famous football player at UCLA and famous ladies man meets the one girl that he knows he wants to spend forever with, on her worst night. Written for The Texas Wildfire compilation


Title: 3rd Down  
>Penname: LaurieWhitlock<br>Rating: M  
>Fandom: Twilight<br>Pairing: Emmett/Rosalie A/H  
>Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.<br>Beta by: Wolfchild and Kim Rathbone  
>Banner link: .?zx=1142d07a0152c78f<br>Summery: Emmett McCarty the most famous football player at UCLA and famous ladies man meets the one girl that he knows he wants to spend forever with, on her worst night.

A/N: I would like to thank everyone that donated to the Texas Wildfires, your donation when to a worthy cause. There was a lot of great writer and banner makes that also donated their time and talent to this cause as well. Banner for this story was made by Christag banners and can be found on my blog, link to which is on my page.

**EmPOV **

Our football team was again, this year, kicking the other schools team's asses. We've won more games than lost. And in a large part, it was due to me, Emmett McCarty, star quarter back and the best thing to come to UCLA in a long time. Football has been my life since the age of 4. When I was 10 I told my father that I was going to be in the NFL and make lots of money. He told me that if that was what I wanted then he would support me 100%. I worked hard in both school and football. When it was time to graduate high school in Tennessee, I had a lot of offers to go to top schools that had high success rate for turning out pro players. I accepted UCLA's full ride football scholarship and moved out here. I was sad to have to leave my parents but I knew that if I wanted to actually make it, I would need to go to a top school.

The ladies had always fancied me, but it wasn't until here that they really began to throw themselves at me. At first I denied their advances, but my best buddy, Jasper Whitlock, who was also on the team as a line backer, told me to man up and just have some fun. My other buddy Edward Masen, who was the wide receiver, agreed with Jasper and said to just make sure I always wrap it before I stuck it and to not get caught by the parental units. So I said to hell with it. I was going to have some fun while on campus and that's just what I did. The girls that I hooked up with knew that it wasn't going to be some long term thing and they were all cool with it.

I made sure that I kept my grades up, went to football practices on time and kept the ladies happy. There was one beauty that I wanted to get with, but she was already in a relationship. I'd only seen Rosalie Hale from a distance, having never been introduced to her. She was the roommate of Alice Brandon and Isabella Swan. They are cheerleaders for our team. Both are great girls, which I think of as my younger sisters. Alice or Ali, as she preferred to be called, was dating Jasper and Isabella or Bella, as she preferred to be called, was dating Edward and it's because Jazz, Ed and I are all so close, that I felt that way towards Ali and Bells. Every time we all hung out together, Rosalie always had other plans with her boyfriend Royce King who was an all around prick. I know that the girls have been trying to get Rosalie away from him but, she keeps insisting that he's a really great guy once you get to know him.

We ended up leaving her to her own devices because nothing we said made any difference. I only knew a little bit about Royce, but what I did know, made me wonder how a nice girl like Rosalie got mixed up with him. He thought that because he came from money, anyone who came in on a scholarship was beneath him. He didn't study; he paid people to do his homework while he went out or threw wild parties. It pissed me off but there was nothing that anyone could do.

As the school year went on, we started to see less and less of Rosalie and from what Ali and Bells told us, when they did see her there were some bruises that were healing on her arms and when questioned about them she said that she had walked into a door or that she tripped. We all knew that it was bullshit because from what the girls said it looked like hand prints, but again there was nothing we could do if she wasn't going to admit what he was doing to her.

The team kept on winning games and we were one win away from making playoffs. The coach added more practices to make sure that we were all ready for the big game. Coach Cullen was working us to the bone but we weren't complaining because we wanted to go to playoffs and for that we needed to train everyday.

Finally the day of the big game arrived. We were going to be facing our rivals USC. We were down by 6 points at the end of the first half but I knew that we could pull back and win this. While we were in the locker room Coach Cullen was giving his speech about how we need to do better so that we can win blah, blah, blah. We'd all heard it before so we just let him talk while we got ourselves stoked up for the second half. We made our way back onto the field and played the best that we've played in a long ass time. We won the game and the whole stadium came running out onto the field to celebrate with us, while USC stalked off the field looking pissed.

We threw a massive party that night at the frat house for making it to playoffs and everyone was there. Music was blaring, drinks were flowing and everyone was dancing or chatting. I saw Ali and Bells and gave the both of them hugs. I noticed that Rosalie was also here but with the asshole Royce. She came over to me while he was getting drinks and said

"Hi, I'm Rosalie Hale. Sorry we've never been able to talk before. I just wanted to congratulate you on winning the game"

"Hi Rosalie, I'm Emmett McCarty. Thanks, I'm glad that you were able to make the game"

"Yeah so am I, too bad I didn't fully understand what was going on though" she laughed

"Well maybe I can give you a crash course one day"

"I would like that" she said with a smile. I couldn't get over how beautiful her smile was. I smiled back and we just stood there smiling and looking at each other when we head _"Rosalie"_ in a very angry tone. She jumped as if she was shocked. Royce stalked over to us, gabbed Rosalie's arm in a death grip and said

"I leave you alone for a few minutes and you are already chatting up some random guy"

She winced as he tighten his grip and I was starting to get pissed

"I'm sorry Royce I just wanted to congratulate him on winning the game" She said in a small voice that shook with fear. I looked into her eyes and could see the beginnings of tears forming which pissed me off even more. He shook her which made her wince again and said

"Couldn't you have waited for me"

"I... I'm sorry... I didn't think..."

"That's the problem you never think"

"Ow! Royce you're hurting me! Please let go"

He didn't listen to her; only tighten his hold more which made her tears start to fall. I was beyond pissed. I shoved his shoulder and growled,

"Let her go".

He just smirked at me and said

"I don't think so, she's mine and she will do as I say"

"She's not a piece of property"

"Like I said she belongs to me, so in a way she is"

I was close to punching this asshole for the way that he was treating Rosalie. I took her hand and said to her

"Come on Rosalie, you don't need to listen to him"

Royce didn't like that, he took hold of my arm and said

"Get your fucking hands off her"

"No you get your hand off her. You're the one hurting her not me"

He shoved me so that I lost my hold on Rosalie's hand and then pulled her so that she was closer to him and sneered at me

"Listen here, scholarship boy, when I tell you something I expect you to listen"

"You can't tell me what to do asshole"

"Wanna bet scholarship boy"

I thought that he was going to punch me but he just turned around, pulling Rosalie with him. I looked at Rosalie. Tears were falling down her cheeks. She looked so scared. I wanted to comfort her but was stopped by Jazz. I looked at him, pissed off and said

"What the fuck man? Why won't you let me go after him?"

"Because if ya go after him and somethin' happens, you might lose your chance to make it big because we both know that fucker will jam you up so badly it won't be funny"

Although I hated to admit it I knew Jazz was right.

"Thanks man for being here to stop me from doing something stupid"

"Hey that's what friends are for. Now let's go get a drink, you look like you could use it"

"Yeah I could"

He slapped me on my back and we made our way to find drinks. I was in a pissed off mood for the rest of the night and everyone knew to stay away from me. They were afraid that I would bite their heads off if they tried to talk to me. I didn't see Rosalie for the rest of the night and I wondered if she was alright. I didn't even know if she was still here or not.

The party was finally winding down and that's when I saw Rosalie. Her shirt was torn and she had not only the bruise on her arm from earlier but she also had a black eye and a swollen lip. I went over to her and placed my hand on her arm. She jumped a little but when she saw that it was me, she calmed down and let out a sigh.

"Rosalie are you alright?"

"Oh yes I'm fine"

"How did you get the black eye?"

"Oh I walked into a door"

"What about the tear in your shirt?"

She looked down and then looked up at me and said

"Oh... um, got it caught on something"

"Did he do this to you?"

"Who?"

"You know who. Royce"

"He didn't do this to me. He loves me"

"Rosie please, I'm only trying to help you. No woman should be treated like a piece of shit the way he's treating you. Please let me help you"

She started to cry and nodded her head while saying through her tears and hiccups, that it was him that gave her the black eye and swollen lip while trying to force himself on her. I wrapped her in my arms and she cried harder. I saw Ed, Jazz, Bells and Ali and with a nod of my head they all walked towards us. When they got closer I whispered in Rosalie's ear that Bells and Ali were going to take her to the police station so that she could press charges against him. She nodded her head and then pulled away from the hug and went into Ali and Bella's waiting arms.

Once they were out of the house, I turned to Edward and Jasper and said

"I wanna kill him"

"We know Em but you can't" Edward replied.

"Well I gotta do something"

"Ya have done somethin' man," Jasper said. "You got her goin' to the police to press charges"

I growled, swore and then sighed. By this point the house was empty so Jazz, Ed and I all went to our rooms. We could always clean up in the morning. I knew that if anything happened one of the girls would call Jasper or Edward and they would let me know.

It's been a couple of days since I've seen Rosalie but Ali and Bells tell me that she is fine. She just needs a little time to herself. The day after the big party the police came to campus and hauled Royce King off to the police station. I was glad that Rosalie had followed through with pressing charges because you always hear about these girls who are beaten by their boyfriends but never do anything about it. I wasn't sure what was going to happen to Royce, but I had a feeling that all the money in his world wouldn't do him any good.

I was sitting outside under a tree with my math book open on my lap, studying for an upcoming test that I needed to pass, when a shadow blocked the sunlight. I looked up and the sight before me took my breath away. It was Rosalie and the way that the light was surrounding her it made it look like she was glowing. I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open when finally my brain kicked into gear and I stumbled to my feet quickly. Once I was eye level with her I could see that the swelling in her lip had gone down and that the color around her eye was also fading.

"Hi Rosalie"

"Hello Em"

"So how have you been Rosalie"

"Rose"

"What?"

"My friends call me Rose"

"Right ok"

"To answer your question I'm doing better"

"That's good to hear"

"Listen Emmett..."

"Em, my friends call me Em"

"Alright, Em it is then. Anyway I wanted to thank you"

"For what?"

"For helping me to see what _**he **_was doing to me and telling me that I should go to the police and report him"

"It's what friends are for, no biggie"

"It is a biggie because no one else had the guts to stand up to him"

"Well I'm sure any longer and Bells would, you know what a firecracker she is"

"Ha, ha true"

"He's just a bully that thinks he can get away with anything because he has money"

"Yeah and I was stupid enough to believe everything he said to me"

"You're not stupid. You're in love with him"

"Actually I fell out of love with him awhile ago"

"So why did you stay with him then?"

"To please my parents"

"Didn't they ever think that there was something wrong?"

"Nope I always made sure to hide the bruises"

"What changed?"

"They were called to the police station and I couldn't cover the bruises"

"What happened?"

"My mom cried because that was happening to me and my father wanted to kill him for, as you so eloquently put it, treated me like a piece of shit"

"Yeah I guess I could have said it a bit differently"

"No the way you said it was just fine. It made me realize what an ass Royce is and the way he was treating me wasn't right"

"So what's going to happen to Royce?"

"Well he has been charged with assault and I need to testify against him for all that he's done to me. From there I don't know what's going to happen"

"He'll probably use his money to get off"

"I don't think so"

"Oh yeah, why do you think that?"

"His father wasn't too happy with him when he found out what he's been doing to me and he said right in front of me that whatever he got he deserved because Mr. King didn't raise Royce the way he was acting"

"Well that's good then. He's not going to be able to get away with it"

"Yeah. Well I just wanted to thank you and I have so I'll let you get back to studying"

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and then proceeded to walk away. My brain was screaming at me to go after her. I took off like a shot and caught up with her in no time. "Rose" I yelled out to her. She stopped mid step and turned to face me

"What's wrong Em?"

I slowed down to a jog and when I was standing next to her I said

"I was wondering if maybe you want to go get a coffee with me... sometime"

"Is the famous ladies man Emmett McCarty asking me out for a drink. I thought you only bed them"

"Ok look most of the women that I'm seen with are only girls that I talk to. I haven't slept with that many"

"Em, I'm only kidding with you. I would love to get a coffee with you"

"Really?"

"Yeah of course"

"Ok cool. When do you want to get one?"

"Well I'm free now"

"Ok let me go and grab my book and then we can go"

Rose nodded and I took off running to my book. Once I got my book I walked back to Rose. We walked to the coffee house and as we were walking we got to know each other better. About halfway to the coffee house, Rose placed her hand in mine and it felt like it belonged in mine for all time. I don't know if she felt the same way or not but I knew at that moment I was going to do everything I could to make her happy.

**RosePOV**

It's been a couple of months now since the party where Em told me to stand up for myself and I couldn't have been happier with the decision to finally turn Royce in for abusing me. I've been with Em now since the day he asked me out for coffee and he treats my like a queen. He's always trying to make me happy but what he doesn't realize is that as long as I'm with him I am happy. Em is such a sweet, caring and funny man. Some of the women on campus were pissed that he had stopped his "love em and leave em" ways but he didn't care. He just rolled with it.

While Royce was out on bail awaiting trial, he confronted me while I was sitting with Em, Ali, Bells, Jazz and Edward. Royce was pissed that I had turned him in and threatened to make my life a living hell. I was scared and wondered if I'd done the right thing. I was shaking, the more that hateful words came out of his mouth and the girls noticed because they came over and wrapped me in their arms and just held me.

I saw Em stand up face to face with Royce. He was yelling at Royce to leave me the fuck alone, that he had no right to be around me and that if he didn't leave he would make him. I was scared for Em because I didn't want him to get into trouble. Jasper and Edward stood up and went to stand behind Em to show a force against Royce and he shot them a look of pure hatred.

Out of nowhere two of Royce's friends turned up and stood behind him. One was named John but I didn't know the other one. I had a feeling that this was going to turn into a fight and that wasn't what I wanted to happen. I got up and went to stand in front of them and said

"I don't want you lot to fight"

"Too bad Rose Petal, I'm going to show scholarship boy and his friends here what happens when you mess with Royce King"

I shuddered when Royce called me by my old nickname. Before I could do or say anything else, Em turned slightly and said

"Girls get a safe distance away, I don't want any of you to get hurt"

Ali and Bells nodded and then came over to me and although I tried to put up a fight to not be moved, they managed to move me anyway. I couldn't see what was happening because of where we were standing. About ten minutes had gone by when the guys came to find us. Em had a bleeding lip and Edward had a black eye while Jazz was holding his side but other then that they didn't seem worse for the wear. We all rushed to our men and checked them over. I was right. What we could see was all that what was wrong with them.

We asked them to tell us what happened and Em said that they exchanged words and before they knew it fists were flying, but Royce and his friends got the worst of it. Once Em finished telling us what happened, Ali, Bells and I flung our arms around our men and just hugged them and then gave them big sloppy kisses. The guys just chuckled when we broke our kisses and then Jazz suggested that we all get out of there. We agreed and left to go hang out at Edward's place.

Royce and his friends tried to bring assault charges against Em, Edward and Jazz but it got thrown out because Ali, unbeknown to us, had left her phone on the table where we had been sitting and had set it to record. When the police saw the recording they added more time onto Royce's sentence. He had to do a lot of community service, go for anger management classes and not come anywhere near me. I was glad that he was finally going to be out of my life and that I could just be me again without having to worry about pleasing Royce and making sure that I didn't do something to anger him.

I couldn't wait to start acting my age and not someone who was already married and needed to act proper. I was ready to let my hair down and let loose. The first stop was hitting the mall and getting clothes that were more age appropriate and then hitting some clubs. It was time and I couldn't wait.


End file.
